First Baptist Church (Roanoke, Virginia)

First Baptist Church
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Virginia Landmarks Register
Location	407 N. Jefferson St., NW, Roanoke, Virginia
Area	less than one acre
Built	1898 (1898)-1900
Architect	Huggins, Henry Hartwell
Architectural style	Romanesque, Gothic
NRHP reference No.	90001840[1]
VLR No.	128-0037
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 6, 1990
Designated VLR	August 21, 1990[2]
Removed from NRHP	March 19, 2001
Delisted VLR	March 19, 1997

First Baptist Church was a historic African-American Baptist church located in the Gainsboro neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1898–1900, and was a large six-bay nave-plan brick church with Romanesque and Gothic detailing. It featured a clipped gable roof and a front bell tower. A one-story Parish Hall was built in 1936. First Baptist Church occupied the building until moving to a new sanctuary in 1982. The church was destroyed by fire in April 1995.[3]

The controversial Reverend Richard R. Jones was the first minister of the church, and guided it through the early stages of planning and construction between 1882 and 1904.[4]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 and delisted in 2001.[1]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
3. John R. Kern and Daniel Pezzoni (August 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: First Baptist Church" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo
4. Kern, John. 2015. "Rev. Richard Jones, Activist, Orator, Founder of Black First Baptist Church, 1882-1904." Historical Society of Western Virginia. Journal. Volume XXII (1), 2015. Page 54.

External links

• First Baptist Church Gainsboro website